"The hell it has," I snapped.
Torvyn froze. Then turned slowly.
"Kira," he said, his voice dangerously quiet. "My ready room. Now."
Every instinct screamed at me to refuse. To stand my ground in front of everyone and force him to listen.
But I felt it through the Tether, the way his anger coiled tighter, the way Kaedren's discomfort bled into guilt, the way Lyrin and Vaelix projected careful neutrality.
This wasn't the fight I needed to have. Not here. Not like this.
I followed Torvyn toward his ready room, acutely aware of three pairs of eyes watching us go.
Chapter 2
The door slid shut behind us, and before I could say anything at all, Torvyn held up a finger and walked over to the fabricator.
I glanced around his ready room while I waited. This space was purely functional: a desk with a single data tablet, a narrow bunk, weapons mounted on the wall in precise alignment. Even the air felt different in here; cooler, drier, calibrated to Zorathi preferences rather than human comfort. The only concessions to comfort were a small viewport showing the stars streaking past as we traveled through slipspace and a small fish tank. It was a soldier’s room.
"Would you like anything?" he asked without turning around.
"I'd like to have a conversation about what just happened out there."
He paused for a split second, then spoke to the machine. "Tea, Earl Grey, hot."
"You drink tea?"
The fabricator hummed, particles coalescing in the chamber until a steaming cup materialized on a delicate saucer. The corporate labs had fabricators too, but they'd been locked behind requisition forms and security clearances. I'd never seen one used for something as simple as tea.
He gently picked up the cup and saucer, then went to his desk and sat down. He motioned for me to sit in one of the chairs across from him, then he took a slow sip and looked at me.
I stood my ground and crossed my arms. I'd been in too many situations like this. A man saying he wanted to talk, only to deliver a lecture about my deficiencies.
Not today, bucko.
"I think I'll stand. I'm not a big fan of mind games and power projection, so let's cut to the chase. When I signed on to this, I was promised two things: honesty and equality. Instead, I'm getting middle management. Explain yourself."
"Before we rescued you, had you ever had an open bounty placed on your head?"
"Of course not. I was a research scientist working for a corporation. The most exciting thing that happened to me, before all of you, was breaking a flashing light with a wrench. A rebel I was not."
He nodded. "Thank you for sharing that with me. Open bounties—"
"Don't be a patronizing shit," I said, sending my thoughts through the tether so everybody could feel my words.
Torvyn flinched, his cup shaking. "I was not being patronizing. I was being honest with you, like I promised."
"Well, I didn't like your tone. So if we are going to have this conversation, why don't we start with the important part?"
"I thought we were," he said, confusion filling his eyes.
"No, we were starting with the part you thought was important."
"Are those two things different?"
"God, you are such a man."
Torvyn blinked, his jaw working as he visibly bit back a response.
